Around South Florida with Elgin Jones 10-03-08

ROUGH ENTRANCE John Green, a former official with the Fort Lauderdale branch of the NAACP, and his wife have filed complaints with the Broward Sheriff’s Office of Professional Standards. Deputies from the Fugitive Unit busted into and raided the Greens’ condo on Sept. 23. John Green said deputies came unannounced to the couple’s front and back doors, yelling. John Green let the deputies in so they would not break down his doors, he said. That’s when the deputies rushed in with shotguns and assault rifles pointed in the couple’s faces, and ordered them to the floor. As it turned out, the deputies were acting on a tip that the couple’s grandson, who does not live with them and who has an outstanding warrant for his arrest, was in the home. BSO said the couple’s grandson, Anthony Green, 27, is being sought after he allegedly stopped paying rent on a set of chrome wheels he is leasing for his car. Anthony was renting the wheels from a tire store, and did not return them. Green said he and his wife could have easily been shot or otherwise hurt, and there was no need for the deputies to enter their home in such fashion, especially not over a set of car wheels. Fortunately, no one was physically injured, but we’ll keep an eye on the complaint and let you know how it turns out.

JUDICIAL HAND SLAP The Florida Supreme Court has issued a reprimand to Broward Circuit Judge Cheryl Aleman, 50, for what the court termed her ‘’arrogant, discourteous and impatient’’ courtroom manner. The court also found that Aleman made defense lawyers file hand-written motions with unreasonably short, 15-minute time limits, or face contempt charges. For years, Aleman has been mired in other controversies, and has made other peculiar rulings. Even so, it still may be too early to determine whether her appointment was a mistake, but it sure is beginning to look that way. If her conduct does not improve, and the incidents continue, then it may be time to remove her from the bench.

RAPE SUSPECT A black male in his early 20s, standing about five-feet-seven inches tall and weighing 140 pounds with black hair and brown eyes, is being sought in a rape incident. The attack occurred at 5:30 a.m. in the 5600 block of Northwest 42nd Ave., in North Lauderdale this past Saturday, Sept. 27. The suspect was wearing a black shirt, black jeans and a black hat. Anyone with information should contact Broward Crime Stoppers, anonymously, at 954-493-8477.

SUPERVISOR DEMOTED Wilton Manors City Manager Joseph Gallegos has approved a demotion, and a two-week suspension without pay, for Ann Barnes, an assistant department head who distributed a racist email from city hall on May 6. In an unrelated series of incidents, Barnes was also named in a racial discrimination complaint filed by former employee Lisa Wiggins, who was the only black person in her department. Barnes is currently serving the suspension, and will also have to undergo sensitivity training. She has appealed the decision, but I don’t know why, because she is very lucky not to have been fired.

LAKES ELECTIONS With all the attention being paid to the presidential election, it is easy to forget about the races taking place in several municipalities, races that will also be decided on Nov. 4. One is the run for mayor of the city of Lauderdale Lakes, which pits two sitting commissioners, Levoyd Williams and Barrington Russell, against one another for the mayor’s post. The winner will preside over a newly configured city commission that will have to address a staggering budget shortfall and years of mismanagement. The stakes are high, and the tricks have already begun.

DISGRACED EX-CON After serving 10 months of his slap-on-the-wrist, 366-day federal sentence, disgraced former Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne was released from federal prison this week as an ex-convict. Jenne plea-bargained, and was convicted of corruption in 2007. There has been speculation about whom Jenne will endorse in the sheriff’s race between his replacement, Republican Sheriff Al Lamberti, and Democratic challenger Scott Israel. The real question is, who would want it, even in outrageously corrupt Broward County?

MOORE QUESTIONS There is a new development in the matter in which Henry Bonner, his wife Andrea, and their three children were evicted from a temporary home as the result of a city program that was supposed to help them. The program demolished the Bonners’ home in 2006, under a promise to rebuild the family a new one. The family was relocated to the temporary home until the construction on their new home was to be completed. Last year, the city’s attorneys determined the family did not meet the criteria for the program after all, more than a year after Fort Lauderdale City Manager George Gretsas’ administration had already demolished the old home. All the while, the family paid the mortgage on a home that no longer exists. Now, through no fault of their own, they will be out on the street because incompetent managers have callously stopped paying rent on their temporary home and will not rebuild the old house, and the matter is now in court. Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Carlton Moore has been highly critical of the family, and Bonner says he may know why. The Bonners operate a small engine repair business, and say Moore has not paid a $185.50 bill for repairs made to a backup generator at his home on Oct. 25, 2005. The Bonners say Moore has ignored invoices, but the family intends to take other steps to collect the debt. Whew!

IMMIGRATION ARRESTS Federal agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) wrapped up a five-day sweep through South Florida in which 116 illegal immigrants who committed serious or violent crimes, or those who failed to comply with deportation orders, were arrested. These included 42 people from Miami-Dade County, 33 in Broward County and 41 from Monroe County, with 31 of them being released under supervision due to medical reasons.

ELECTION DAY FEARS With an anticipated 75 percent voter turnout expected Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes is in the spotlight, and there are growing concerns about the Nov. 4 elections. At present, officials from both the Democratic and Republican parties are openly voicing concerns about possible mishaps on Election Day. Well, let’s stop the bellyaching, and everyone should just calm down. There will be some issues, as is expected, and there should be contingency plans in place to address them, but crying wolf at this point will not help the situation.

ICON REMEMBERED Few people remember him, but in a 1973 ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Joe Oscar Eaton issued a landmark ruling that integrated Palm Beach County’s public schools. After that ruling, there was an attempt on his life: An angry man tried unsuccessfully to strangle him as he sat inside his truck. Eaton died in his sleep this week. He was 88. First appointed to the bench in 1967 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, Mr. Eaton, a U.S. Army Purple Heart recipient, also served as a state senator and a civic advocate.

THREE BODIES DISCOVERED Boca Raton police are still trying to determine what led to the deaths of 57-year-old Louis J. Lepore, Derek Smith, 25, and Howard Wilkinson, 46, at a home they shared in the 800 block of Northwest Sixth Terrace this week. Lepore’s body was found inside a running car in the garage, and the bodies of the other two men were located in separate bedrooms in the house. Police say the home was filled with carbon monoxide, which is suspected as the cause of the deaths, but autopsy results have yet to confirm this. There were no weapons found in the home, and neighbors say there was no known conflict between the three, which is fueling speculation it was simply a tragic accident.